Points Of Contact
by Illusion-Factory
Summary: They see a boy and his brother, then a young man ready to chase down his love and finally an old man watching the ocean. Times when The Straw-Hat Pirates meet The Dai-Gurren Pirates.


Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece or Gurren Lagann

It's 4am, why did I write this? Why am I posting this?

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><p>The first time they meet, it's in some random tavern in some random town on some random island. And it's in the middle of a bar fight predictably enough.<p>

Nami had walked up from the table to haggle the price of the enormous amount of food down. She had almost reached the bar when one of the not too bright drunken lugs sitting with a group of his firends, tripped her and then grabbed her wrist pulling her closer to him. Before Sanji could get to his feet, before Luffy could swallow, before Zoro could even drop a hand to his swords, a small boy barreled into the drunk, knocking all three off balance, but successfully freeing Nami. The drunk came up, fist clenched around the collar of the boy's blue jacket, as he wasn't wearing a shirt, hefting him up as well.

"What the hell do you think you're doing you little punk?" He bellowed in the boy's face. Nami scrambled to her feet, Sanji helping her up as Zoro and Luffy flank them protecting and ready to fight. Chopper and Usopp have already taken refuge behind a handy table. But then, again before anything can be done or started an enraged shout echoes through-out the suddenly still tavern.

"Hands off my beloved little brother punch!" And suddenly the drunk is flying through the air and smashing through a few walls, the young boy tucked safely under the arm of the new arrival, who hops down from the table he had jumped on, red cape swirling about his shoulders and red tinted, pointy glasses flashing in the dim bar light. Luffy and Chopper already have stars of amazement in their eyes. Simon, the young boy introduces himself, eyes on the floor and an embarrassed blush staining his cheeks, explains the circumstances to his older brother, resulting in said brother whacking him on the back and loudly declaring that rescuing a damsel in distress is something manly men do. Nami begins to protest such a label but the older brother continues on flippantly praising Simon, Luffy and Chopper hanging on every word. Sanji is trying to convince Nami that her arguments would be better heard if directed solely at him. And Zoro has better things to focus on, like the group of the drunk's friends.

The drunk's friends begin to get rowdy while introductions and explanations are passed around. One of them makes the mistake of standing up and demanding to know what the stranger thinks he's doing, punching their friend through walls like that. Apparently it's either the right or wrong type of question ask. The older brother gets a glint in his eye, and whips around, arms crossed, almost giving his younger brother whiplash with his cape. The back of which sports a flaming sunglassed skull, identical to the one on the younger brother's jacket back. "So cooool." Luffy and Chopper whisper in tandem. The man points a finger at the thugs, his appendage only a mere centimeter from the speaker's nose.

"Just who the hell do you think I am?" He bellows, that's all he has time for as the speaker punches him square in the face. It only makes his head turn, and then he's punching back and the speaker is also now flying through air and walls. In the silence that follows, the man answers his own question. "I'm going to tell you something important now, so you better dig the wax out of those huge ears of yours, and listen! The reputation of The Gurren Pirates echoes far and wide. When they talk about its bad ass leader, the man of indomitable spirit and masculinity, they're talking about me! The Mighty Kamina!" He ends with his thumb tapping his chest. The silence lasts for another two seconds and then all the drunk's friends are throwing themselves at the Straw-hats plus two.

In the aftermath of the violent and short brawl that follows, names and information are exchanged as a few more members of what Kamina and Simon refer to as The Dai-Gurren Pirates arrive to see what's keeping their mighty leader, and the group decides to enjoy one another's company for the evening. Both crews part on good terms, Straw-hats going one way and Dai-Gurren going the other.

-0-0-0-

When Franky finally joined their crew and the _Thousand Sunny_ had pushed off from port. Nami couldn't help but ask if he was related to a pirate by the name of Kamina or had heard of the Dai-Gurren Pirates. Franky looks confused and answers in the negative.

-0-0-0-

The next time the two meet it's as ships passing and many, many years later. The straw-hats are just pulling into harbor and Dai-Gurren is loading up to pull out. They almost don't recognize each other. It was a long time ago, for only a short evening, and nothing has been seen or heard of Dai-Gurren since. But the flaming skull on the back of the young captain's jacket and the name of the boat, the _Gurren Lagann_, stirs Nami's memory, and before she knows it, under the bemused stare of her crew, she's tapping the captain on his shoulder. He turns to look at her, an eye brow raised in curiosity, but then she sees the spark of recognition and she blurts out a question.

"Do you know Simon or Kamina?" He smiles at her.

"I am Simon, well, it's Captain Simon now. You're Nami correct?" And Nami almost can't believe it, almost forgets to nod. He's not the young boy from the tavern anymore, but a young man, cutting a dashing figure in his long blue, red and gold captain's jacket, a red sash tied around his waist. Luffy is next over, and calls of hello and long time no see are exchanged between members of the crews, while introductions of new crew members are made. It turns out that Dai-Gurren is heading out to take back one of their own. Nia, their princess, had been kidnapped. But as the Dai-Gurren pirates are getting ready to go, and only Simon is left on the dock about to head up the gangplank, Luffy asks the question.

"Where's Kamina?" And the crew goes strangely still, that in itself is enough answer for the Straw-hats, but Simon surprises them. He laughs a little bit.

"Big Brother's dead, dead and gone." He doesn't sound overly sad about this, he sounds as if he's stating a fact, which he is, but a mundane fact, like 'it's raining', or 'the grass is green'. Luffy, who knows the pain of losing your big brother, nods. But Nami, remembering how close the two had been and from hearing stories of how Luffy dealt with Ace's own demise has to ask, to make sure Simon is okay.

Simon looked at her and smiled again. "Those who are dead, are dead. If we bring them back to life they'll just get in the way of the next generation, right?" He said, sounding as if he were trying to impart a great secret to a small child. At Nami's and other's confused looks, he sighed and tried again. "My bro is dead. But he's there on my back, and here in my heart." Simon taps his chest, where his heart is, before turning to lay a hand on the side of the ship. "He lives on as a part of me, as part of the ship." Simon turned back, striking a pose similar to Kamina, yet subtly different in a way that was all Simon's own. "Just who the hell do you think I am? I'm Simon. I'm not Kamina's brother. I'm me. Simon, the Sea Faring Captain of the _Gurren Lagann_. And I have a job to do." So saying he bid them farewell and strode up the gangplank, both sides waving until the _Gurren Lagann_ was out of sight.

-0-0-0-

The Straw-hats never meet the Dai-Gurren pirates as they were, ever again. The next time, there is no Simon and a few other members are missing as well, the crew has new and different members but the spirit of Dai-Gurren Pirates is the same. The story is told, the whole story, pieced together carefully by the remaining Dai-Gurren pirates, of a young boy and his foster brother, of a young man and the love of his life, of a boy becoming a man, gaining everything and then losing it all. Luffy questions the ending. "How do you know he's alive?" The new captain shrugs and it's the volatile beast man who answers. "He's too damn stubborn to be dead. He's out there somewhere."

"Aren't you going to look for him?" The question draws several stares and makes Nami wilt slightly.

"What do you think we've been doing?" The beastman, Viral, snarls, waving an oversized paw around. "He won't come out."

"Why not?" Nami is full of questions tonight. The new captain sighs through his nose and leans back as Viral snorts.

"He knows his age is over. There's nothing else for him to do, he's done what he needed to." The captain says in a sad tone. "It's his way. Now it's our time, to make what we will in the future he passed down to us." In this answer Nami hears a hint of what Simon was trying to tell her on that dock, not very long ago.

-0-0-0-

It's more years later then Luffy cares to count. They've docked on a small island out in the middle of nowhere. And on the beach a man is sitting, watching the waves. He has dark blue hair streaked with gray and a ratty brown cloak with the hood pushed down. He looks like a man who's seen and done a lot, a small amount of lines pull at his mouth and eyes. Luffy is about to call out to him, but the man looks so peaceful, watching the ships leave on the waves, that he decides to leave the man alone and heads into town instead. He doesn't see the man again.

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><p>It's done, let me know how it was. A little bit rushed and not everything included that I wanted.<p> 


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